New York hospitals are not adequately staffing nurses, according to a new report.
The New York State Nurses Association report showed between January and October 2024, hospitals failed to staff intensive care units and critical care patients at the state-mandated ratio more than 50% of the time. The report also said most hospitals do not publicly post staffing ratios as state law requires.
Margret Franks, a registered nurse at Vassar Hospital in Poughkeepsie, said it greatly affects patient care.
A new study involving more than 80,000 US nursing homes has found a link between the use of staffing agency nurses and lower quality ratings in the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services Five-Star system.
The use of agency registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and certified nursing assistants decreased a facility’s chance of attaining higher star ratings by 4%, 5% and 4%, respectively, researchers discovered. Investigators affiliated with a handful of US universities analyzed facility results from 2017 to 2022 to reach their conclusions.
Researchers said the transient nature of agency nursing staff can create significant challenges for residents and permanent staff members.
Coaching inexperienced clinicians within an hour of intubating an infant significantly improved success rates. The coached group placed the breathing tube in the infant's windpipe on the first attempt over 91% of the time, compared to nearly 82% in the control group.
With adult obesity rates falling last year for the first time in more than a decade, drugs such as Ozempic and Zepbound are already reshaping Americans' waistlines. Now, they're poised to reshape the entire economy, too.
Health insurance companies in Minnesota are now required by law to cover the cost of wigs for those who have lost their hair due to a medical condition. Originally, only alopecia was covered, but not alopecia caused by cancer. The legislation comes into effect days after the death from ovarian cancer of former Minnesota Senate Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic. Dziedzic, who authored the provision in the omnibus bill and died on Dec. 27, had her own struggles with hair loss.
Last week's flu activity was particularly intense in the South, Southwest and western U.S. The states reporting lesser amounts of suffering were mostly in the northern Great Plains and in New England. So far this season, the CDC estimates, there have been at least 5.3 million flu illnesses, 63,000 hospitalizations, and 2,700 deaths — including at least 11 children. It's not clear if this winter respiratory virus season will be any worse than others. So far it seems relatively typical, at least for kids.